Tugan Tel
“Tugan tel” means native tongue in Tatar. The Tatar language is related to Turkish and many Central Asian languages. The Tatars are the largest ethnic minority in Russia today. Only a part of them live in Tatarstan, a state with considerable independence in the Russian Federation (formerly the Tatar Soviet Republic).
I found this reader for primary school at the university library in Helsinki. Unfortunately, I did not have access to a scanner, so the quality of the photos varies. But please enjoy the pretty, funny, ugly and sad sides of Soviet Tatar existence, as presented by this sweet little school book.
July 26th, 2007 at 9:34 pm
I Tugan Tel (Gabdulla Tuqay)
Oh, beloved native language!
Oh, enchanting mother tongue!
You enabled my search for knowledge
Of the world, since I was young
As a child, when I was sleepless
Mother sung me lullabies
And my grandma told me stories
Through the night, to shut my eyes
Oh, My tongue! You have been always
My support in grief and joy
Understood and cherished fondly
Since I was a little boy
In my tongue, I learned with patience
To express my faith and say:
“Oh, Creator! Bless my parents,
Take, Allah, my sins away!